A review by heathermoodreads
The Madness by Dawn Kurtagich

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

If you're looking for a gothic horror with Dracula vibes full of Welsh folklore, mental illness representation, and small town vibes, this one is for you. I absolutely loved this, and the audiobook was amazing. 

Mina is a psychiatrist with crippling OCD who grew up in a small Welsh town that believes in supernatural creatures. Mina and her best friend Lucy always vowed to each other they would both leave the town together and make something of themselves. But, Mina runs away after a traumatic experience and doesn't return home. She becomes a psychiatrist and focuses on helping women through traumatic experiences. She is dedicated and really cares about her patients. 

Mina receives an alarming email from her estranged best friend who begs for Mina's help. The guilt that Mina has had comes crashing back, making her OCD worse, but she decides to go back to her small hometown and help her old friend. When she returns to her hometown, she realizes that Lucy has the same symptoms as one of her own patients back in London. Mina takes an oath to try to figure out what's causing these women, who are hundreds of miles apart, to have the same symptoms before it's too late. Mina finds herself thrown into everything she tried to leave twelve years ago. 

I loved this!!